International Women's Day - The Courage to Stand Strong!

Hey all,

In light of International Women's Day, thought we would offer up an incredibly inspiring and true story from our 2nd year scholarship applicant, Saio Jalloh, currently pursuing her Bachelors' of Education at Milton Margai College in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Here's a reminder that real changes and real lives can be improved when a more holistic approach is taken, and we invest in programs that BUILD people up through education and opportunities.

Hope you enjoy and get inspired!

SAIO JALLOH, 21 years old:
From the moment I first met Saio 3 years ago, she has remained one of the most intelligent and strong-willed women I have ever encountered. During out first scholarship interviews in 2010, Saio boldly expressed the following to our panel of interviewers:
“Not everyone wants to be a teacher, because the level of education here, and the way they treat teachers is not good…their salaries are not good. So everyone in my country wants to become an accountant, or a lawyer…But I want to be a teacher because I want to render a service to my community and help it improve.”

For a 19 year old girl coming from a very poor family, this was not only a daring and unusual dream, but it was one that Saio believes in with her whole heart. She is so passionate about building up her hometown that she insists on finding a teaching job in Kabala when she is finished school, rather than working in the capital city, Freetown, where she could make more money. Needless to say, Saio’s story inspired and challenged me, as she was and still is more than willing to sacrifice for her country so that future generations can have a better life and education.

Not only do Saio’s educational goals that remain astonishing, but her character and integrity offer up a challenge to all women throughout the world, even those of us in much more fortunate situation. As one of the first members in The People’s Foundation of Sierra Leone mentoring programs, Saio attended our workshops on HIV/AIDS, Sexual abuse, and learned how to overcome difficult situations with the help of her community and her mentor. Saio also became a mentor to a younger girl in her community, sharing her stories of university life and overcoming hardships.

In her first year of university, Saio’s integrity was put to the test, and the programs had an even bigger effect on her than we ever could have dreamed. In our mission statement, we say that “we seek to put an end to sexual abuse…by empowering youth to recognize themselves as valuable, unique individuals who can make a difference in the world.” I never would have expected Saio to emulate these words and make them a reality in her day-to-day life, but when she came back for her 2nd interview to get another scholarship, she proved to all of us at the Foundation that she had done just that. When I asked Saio a question we asked all of our returning applicants, which was simply whether or not our programs helped her or changed her viewpoint about anything through her first year of school, she looked me straight in the eye and confidently delivered what would end up being one of the most rewarding and emotional speeches I have ever heard.

“Did this program help me? Yes, yes, it helped. Earlier this year, a professor asked me to sleep with him in order to improve my grade. I was really good in this class, but I always ended up with C’s or lower on my exam papers and didn’t understand, until he told me that was the only way I would pass. I was confused, because I knew I had to do well in my classes to get another year of tuition…but I talked to my mentor before I made a decision. She advised me not to sleep with him, and to be brave even if it meant failing a class. The next time he asked me my decision, I said “NO”! He was surprised. I got a terrible grade in the class, but I never felt so good about a decision. I think my roommates learned something too, because they had never seen a girl say “no” to a professor before!”

Perhaps it was the calm, collected way in which Saio recounted this story which nearly moved me to tears, as if she didn’t even think her actions were a big deal, as if she didn’t even realize how much of an impact her decision has made on other girls in the community and will continue to make in the future. Whatever the case, I remember being dumbstruck with her answer, questioning how something this momentous could occur in such a short time of us running our programs! Of course, there is still much work to be done, but with incredible young women like Saio to lead our programs forward, I have full confidence that a change in the youth in Sierra Leone can take place for the better. Saio’s confidence and ability to stand firm in the face of adversity just show that once you give a community the reins for a project, and ask them what is important, and stand by to help with development in a sustainable way instead of imposing your own ideas, things can really change for the better. Saio is a constant inspiration and encouragement to me, and a reminder of all the brave and amazing women all over the world who aren’t afraid to take a stand for what’s right and carve out a path for their sisters to follow in.


Oh, and did I mention she still wants to be the Minister of Education in Sierra Leone after she graduates and gets some teaching experience? Imagine how much could change then…

Finishing the Race! Final Celebrations...

Marian Marah, one of our successful applicants this year!

Hey all,
Sorry for the long silence, the last month has been beyond crazy. We had over 30 applicants for our scholarships this year, and we had to shortlist all of the applicants and interview the best 17 candidates during the 3rd week of July. The interviews were so challenging and encouraging - it was truly amazing to see the difference this program has made in these young people's lives in such a short time. It was incredibly inspiring to hear them talk about their visions, goals, and dreams with so much CONFIDENCE that they could actually achieve them, because they have now been given the chance to have that opportunity. There were also a few youth who are still in the developing stage, and were not too confident or sure of their self-value and unique talents yet - so although it was difficult to say "no" to some of these youth regarding scholarships this year, it is encouraging to think that in a year or two their confidence and ability to succeed in life will have grown due to their involvement in these programs. Honestly, the decisions were really tough this year - imagine having so many bright, talented youth with plans to impact their own future and the community around them, and actually having to choose which ones deserve that opportunity! They certainly all deserve that opportunity, but the funds were not enough this year to provide all of them with it; and in Krio we say "small e fayn o" meaning "small is beautiful". We don't want to offer scholarships that we can't continue next year, so it's best to start small and then grown big in the future. Fortunately, I had an experienced panel of judges doing the interviews with me, so we were able to make clearheaded and non-biased decisions at the end of the day. Rev. John Phiri, the Coordinator for the CRC Church in Sierra Leone and one of our head partners, was sitting in on these interviews, as well as the youth pastor, Maxwell Kanu, my program manager, Fakulie Jawara, and our two volunteers from South Korea, David Yu Up Lee and Keewhan Sung. It was truly a humbling experience working with all of these great people and having them all put their hearts, minds, and heads together so that we could not only make the best decisions, but also encourage and uplift our youth in the progress.

One of the questions we asked in our interviews was "how has this program affected or changed your life?" and I was nearly brought to tears several times because of the answers. One of the students being interviewed, Rugiatu Tarawalie, stated that "This program has really changed the way I interact with others and the way I view my life. Before, it was difficult to speak with confidence or look at myself with value and love, but now I know I am a unique child of God and I deserve love and respect in all my relationships - so I treat others with that same respect." Imagine that kind of a statement coming from someone who has only been in this program for two years! Rugi was chosen as one of the leaders in the program this year, and she will be facilitating the workshops and bible studies we run throughout the year.

Another student answered that question by stating that this program has really changed his life for the better, because it has given him the strength and courage to handle tough situations by talking to his mentor and relying on the support of the youth group. What encouraging and uplifting words to hear from youth who were struggling so much even a few years ago!

After the week of difficult decisions, we called all our applicants back and told them our final decisions - whether or not they had the scholarships. It was one of the toughest tasks I've ever had when I had to inform the non-successful applicants they had to reapply, but we all did our best to encourage them and tell them that this is not the end of the road, only a reason to get up and try even harder. I sincerely hope the program keeps benefiting them this year and that we are able to raise the funds to send all of these promising and amazing youth to school next year.
It was incredible, however, to see the joy on the faces of our successful applicants. We were able to capture some of these moments on video, and I look forward to sharing these clips with you all very soon (editing them now!) so you can see the incredible difference this makes in the lives of these youth. One of our successful applicants, Marian Marah, burst into tears and couldn't believe her ears when we told her she was successful. Marian's story is just one of many, but she has grown up in an abusive home and had no option to continue her education...she was nearly being forced to sleep with men for money, and she felt like there was no way out. How amazing to see a beautiful young woman like this given the opportunity to change her story! Truly, I can only thank you all and thank God for the support and growth of this program. These youth are so close to my heart and it means the world to me that even though you don't know them, you have chosen to believe in their potential and help them let their light shine. I think I can sum up the joy and celebration best in the words Rev. John spoke to Marian when she received her scholarship:
"Marian, you have been successful..we are giving you a scholarship so you can pursue the dreams of your life. God saw your tears when you cried behind that closed door...he saw your tears, and he did not forget you. God has a PLAN for you Marian, a plan full of hope and future, and hope that will not burn out. We want to see you achieve your goal of becoming a doctor, and we want to help you reach the dream you thought was impossible."

This year, we awarded returning scholarships to Martin Koroma, Martin Jonal Lisa, Saio Jalloh, and Frank Foray Sesay valued at $1000 each. We awarded 4 brand new full scholarships to Marian Marah, Binty Jawara, Lansana D. Koroma and Merah D. Koroma also valued at $1000 each. We awarded two partial scholarships valued at $500 each to Rugiatu Tarawalie and Amara S. Fefegula, so they could continue the school they had started and ran out of money for. We also awarded two high school scholarships for final year to Teddy Kamara and Sheku Jawara, valued at $100 each - both of these young men would have dropped out of high school if not for these scholarships, because there was no one in their family to support them. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for being a part of making dreams come true! Pictures and video to come...you have made more of a difference than you can ever know.
-Krissi Bucholtz, Executive Director

Excitement Exceeds Expectations!

Hey all,
Again, sorry for the break in communication. You can definitely tell you're in the right field of work when there's SO much work to be done that there's barely enough time to write aobut the work that's getting done. Our first volunteer, Haley Howe, left Sierra Leone on July 3rd (a week ago from yesterday). To be honest, it was so refreshing and wonderful to have her to work with for a month - her heart for the work, her commitment to get involved in the community, and her desire to help impact as much change as she could truly exceeded all my expectations. It was a real blessing to have a friend and volunteer for a month who could view the Foundation from another angle, be critical of some things that need to be altered, and also offer encouragement and advice into where things are going well. Haley kept saying that she didn't know why the community was thanking her, because she didn't feel like she had done anything - but to be honest, just living in this community for a month, understanding their struggles and issues, and taking the time to get to know them beyond just a first name basis is a huge commitment and a huge part of the work that needs to be done here. Without taking the time to build these community relationships, what we do with the Foundation would be impossible.

So while I was sad to see Haley go, I am thrilled to announce that tomorrow one of our staff members, our program manager Fakulie Jawara, will be arriving in Sierra Leone tomorrow along with two new volunteers from South Korea. We are overwhlemingly blessed with volunteers and contributors this year, a blessing which I hope continues on into the future! Fakulie is a native Sierra Leonean who has gone overseas to complete his Masters' Degree and in 2010 contacted me because he was interested in working for the Foundation. He is really passionate about giving back to youth within his own community and making sure they know their own value and worth, and it's amazing to have someone on our team who has all the local knowledge, experience, and background. Fakulie also designed our offical website earlier this year so you can see his talents have already been put to great use! I will be travelling back to Freetown tomorrow to pick him up along with our two South Korean volunteers, and hopefully we will be back in Kabala by Wednesday.

In other exciting news, we have received all the applications for the scholarships this year. We will be interviewing the 4 past candidates for a potential renewal of their scholarships, interviewing between 6 and 8 candidates for a new full $1000 per year scholarship, and also, interviewing between 4 and 6 candidates for our brand new partial scholarship program which we decided to introduce this year, which is a $500 scholarship for one year for students who have already started attending college but ran out of funds. It's great to see the organization developing and see the many ways in which we can constantly slightly adapt and change our plans to fit the need and what the youth here are longing for so that they can acheive the dreams of their life. This year is going to be a difficult year, as we have had over 25 applicants for the scholarships, and we are going to have to shortlist those that we want to interview by the end of this week. Our scholarship interviews will be taking place next week, from July 18-20, so please keep us in your thoughts and minds and prayers! It is certain to be a difficult time of decision making, as all the youth here are passionate and wonderful individuals, but I am also certain that we will be able to pick the ones who are the most qualified and most in need of the scholarships this year. If the interviews prove to be even half as encouraging and uplifting as last year, I'm sure I will leave next week with a new lease on life and a new passion for this work! So as you can see, my lack of frequent blog posts is not due to a lack of excitement - I am overwhelmed by HOW much there is to do in so little time! It simply blows my mind that in only one year this program could be so accepted and so supported by the community - I am so grateful for the way the people here have invested their hearts and souls into it, and I am ever encouraged to keep fundraising and fighting the good fight when I see the youth recognizing their value and unique ability to change their world. We will be awarding the scholarships this year on July 31st, and we are planning to hold a big ceremony for the whole community, not just the church, in the Kabala Community Centre. So stay tuned, exciting and busy times lie ahead! -Krissi Bucholtz, Director

Sierra Leone Exceeds all Expectations: Hope is stronger than Poverty

Our first volunteer, Haley Howe, has been with us for a month here in Kabala, and it has been a wonderful month learning and growing from her expertise and experiences. We are so blessed to have had her here working with the youth, helping develop the programs, and offering another opinion into the development work here. I hope you enjoy her last blog post, and please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we prepare to go to Freetown on Thursday, and as Haley's flight leaves Sierra Leone Sunday night. -Krissi Bucholtz

Last night I facilitated my first mentoring session. The mentoring programs of The People’s Foundation of Sierra Leone are a way for youth to connect and help themselves. How it works is that an older youth is paired with a younger youth and together they help each other to plan and reach goals and to offer each other support. This relationship is useful because it gives both people someone to turn to outside of their family and peers for support and help with problems. The younger youth can learn from things the older youth has already dealt with and the older youth gets a chance to offer guidance and support to the younger one. This is a small but effective step towards development taking place for the people and by the people.
By asking broad questions about Sierra Leone and the challenges it faces the mentoring session succeeded in generating maximum participation and discussion from the youth. The main thing I saw was the frustration in the youth due to a lack of services and opportunities available to them. Services such as education, health care, electricity, roads, and industry are either lacking or not existent at all. This is especially true of the villages. The sources of these problems are mainly traced back to a corrupt and ineffective government and the lack of infrastructure due to the war.
It’s really important to get information from the people and not assume that after a month or even a year of living here that you would understand what’s actually going on in the country. What I’ve found so far in Sierra Leone and in most countries is that there’s a huge difference between how things look on the surface and what’s happening on a deeper level. For example every morning I see piles of children washed and walking to school dressed up in their uniforms. They greet me with huge smiles and a loud, “Hello White man!” Coming from Canada I automatically assume that everyone ate breakfast that morning and that they are going to a school that employs qualified teachers who get paid a salary for their work. What I don’t realize is that many of the children haven’t eaten that day nor the previous one and that a single classroom can have over 100 students with only one teacher. The teachers are often not qualified and unpaid by the government and sadly some of the students find themselves in the terrible position of having to have sex with the teachers in exchange for grades or school fee payment or are simply just abused. These are the types of things that are uncovered after years of working with the youth through programs like the mentoring one. It’s so important that these issues are brought out in the open so that they can begin to be addressed and changed.
On the positive side many of the people here have a resilience that allows them to remain hopeful and proud of their country. Heartbreaking and hopeful is the only way I can describe the situation here. The fact that youth have the ability to come from such a place of poverty, and all the problems that come with that, and realize that the changes they need must come from them gives me the strength that is necessary to do this type of work.
When I asked the youth to write down what they would tell the world about Sierra Leone they wrote, “Sierra Leone has just come from eleven years of war which caused us to suffer a lot with the loss of property, life, and relatives. We are now trying to develop our country by improving the standard of lives of the people. We now have a peaceful country and we love one another and the strangers who come to our aid.”
A month has gone by already, and as I prepare to take my leave here and face the culture shock that will come with returning home I will strive to remember the grace and gratefulness that these people live out every day of their lives, taking little for granted and having so much appreciation for every opportunity that is presented to them no matter how small it is. I will also look for ways to continue to help this country from Canada. –Haley Howe

Another Side of Sierra Leone

Haley carrying water on top of her head "Sierra Leone style".

This week we are fortunate enough to have a guest writer on our blog, our first official volunteer, Haley Howe. Haley was in the Global Stewardship program that I graduated from at Capilano University, and she has been here working with me since June 3rd. I hope you enjoy her thoughts and experiences and gain another perspective from her words! -Krissi


My experience in Sierra Leone has been truly life changing. Although I’ve done a lot of travelling in developing countries, never before have I had such an opportunity to live as a local. Krissi’s hard work and perseverance have earned her the respect and trust of the community here in Kabala. Because of this I have an insider’s view on the culture and society here. I am living a life very different to the one I live in Vancouver, Canada. Seemingly simple tasks that the locals perform daily such as carrying large buckets of water on their heads or preparing a meal of groundnut soup leave me a sweaty and embarrassed mess acutely aware of all I take for granted in Canada.
A journey to Sierra Leone is not for the faint of heart and is not possible without sacrifice, especially when compared to the relatively pampered western lifestyle, but it offers so much more in return. The people I’ve met here have been some of the most gracious, hospitable, generous, human beings that I have ever met. Their spiritual faith is intensely passionate and permeates every aspect of life. People that have so little have a way of making you feel that you are in one of the richest places on earth. I’m not sure what I was expecting to find here in Sierra Leone, a country that survived a brutal civil war, but it certainly wasn’t a feeling of hope, contentment, or the gentle way that people have when dealing with one another. In fact I find it hard to find these things at home in Vancouver where I always have more than I need.
The People’s Foundation for Sierra Leone is giving opportunities to youth that are willing to work hard and want to heal and build their country. I can’t imagine a better way to structure development than to give a country the tools to allow itself to develop from the inside through its own citizens. In this way the Foundation avoids the common pitfalls of development such as the band-aid approach with only short-term effects or western imposed solutions to problems that are not really understood.
Working with Krissi has allowed me to see the strength and commitment necessary to do this type of work. This is not an easy task and I believe that there are very few people that could do it well with any lasting effect. Development work relies on the strength and trust of the relationships that are formed between cultures. This is why short term projects often don’t reach their potential or fail completely. Krissi has the conviction and commitment to see this work through but more importantly is that it comes from her heart out of a pure love for this nation. Her desire to help Sierra Leone is not tainted by ego or motivated by self serving reasons.
Haley Howe

Humble Beginnings, Hope for Tomorrow - Youth Arise in Sierra Leone

Hey all,
I hope that you are all doing well in Canada, the U.S, or wherever you might find yourself in the world. Sorry for the break in communication, it's been a hectic two weeks filled with excitement and learning lessons. Our first volunteer arrived here on June 3rd, and it has been amazing to see her getting involved with the Foundation, learning from the youth and also giving so much back to them in return. It has been a real blessing to have someone to work side by side with, so I can start to see my own weaknesses and dilemmas in running the programs day to day, and learn how to improve them and work through them to make this organization develop. On June 5th, we officially started a branch of The People’s Foundation of Sierra Leone in Freetown, so that all the past scholarship recipients could continue giving back to the program and supporting it. It was wonderful to see the excitement, need, and passion for this program in Freetown – on our first meeting day, over 20 youth showed up to talk about the program’s goals and how they could fit into their lives. It is truly amazing to see youth who have come from Kabala to still be eager to work together and extend their network of community through this program in Freetown. It was encouraging to see their zeal for the program, and on Monday June 12th, they ran and held the second session of the program all on their own! What a dream come true to see the capacity building we began a year ago with four university scholarships taking form, and those students taking ownership over the programs and over their lives, being willing to work together to create change in their community, country, and generation. Hearing the words of one of our scholarship recipients, Martin Koroma, in his report about the first meeting he conducted really uplifted my spirits – “We had over 20 youth attend the meeting, and we had very good discussions about the need for this program and how we can use mentoring and community to help our country develop. I think we will need a bigger space if we keep meeting like this – everyone was so happy and excited to see this program starting in Freetown!” Those words are every development worker’s dream – how awesome it is to hear from the youth themselves how this program is benefiting and helping them, instead of just assuming it is working how it is supposed to be.

Yesterday, we had a planning meeting with some of the local partners for The People’s Foundation. It was encouraging to sit down and discuss the past year with Rev. John Phiri, Rev. Ezekiel Sudu, and Pastor Maxwell Kanu, three leaders who were active in the development and maintenance of our programs over the past year. As in any work in this field, there are always lessons to be learned and obstacles to overcome, and our biggest lesson is that we need to thoroughly invest in indigenous leadership if this program is to develop and continue growing here in Sierra Leone. Although the Pastors are a great help to the program, it became clear that they merely need to act as resources and overseers, not the actual program managers here on the ground. As we sat brainstorming about the youth that could possibly take up the volunteer position of program manager for this year, it was great to see that several youth in the program have developed enough over the past year that they could take on this position as long as they had training beforehand. Please continue praying for us as we try to identify and interview youth who could succeed in this position!

Although our meeting yesterday brought up the issue of leadership and how we need to address this and put youth in charge of the program, there was also tons of positive feedback about the way that the program ran over the past year. Rev. Ezekiel mentioned that the change in the youth because of this program has been incredible, and even one of the elders in the church stated that her daughter’s life has changed immensely just because of this mentoring program – without her mother even asking her, she has started taking responsibility of her life and started mentoring and guiding her younger sisters. I found tears springing to my eyes as I heard the words of encouragement from those here in Sierra Leone from day to day – even though there may be trials and struggles in the future, we are certainly on the road worth travelling down, no matter the obstacles in our way. Rev. John said it best when he stated that “although we cannot yet see the elimination of poverty, which is one of the true aims of this Foundation, seeing the development of our youth in their spiritual, educational, and physical lives is the key that we are on the right track.” Those words made all the late nights of fundraisers and lost sleep to try and promote this program in Canada all completely worth it, and they also made me eternally grateful for the support of all of you in North America and around the world – this change could not happen without you! We have now issued out a list for potential scholarship applicants this year, and I am excited to see the potential and talents that will be revealed through our scholarship interviews this year.
I think the words of Maxwell Kanu, one of our partners, sum it up better than I ever could:
“This program has been so great in terms of the output of our youth, because it has worked in their lives, brought some amount of awareness in them and allowed them to rethink their old way of viewing things - some of them are now actually realizing who they are, realizing they ARE something and they can DO something. They have identified what they want to be in life, it has helped the individual youth and their fellowship as a whole. This program is of immense importance to help build our future generation”.
How humbling and awesome to hear those words spoken yesterday – and what a reminder that this work is so necessary, so important, and no matter how long it takes, change will occur in this beautiful country through the lives of these young leaders. Be Blessed!
-Krissi

Getting back to work!

Hey all,
So we're having a planning meeting today with the field staff and volunteers here (the three pastors at the church) to see what has happened over the past year with the Foundation, and how we can keep improving it it the future. It's exciting to think that it's been almost 2 years since this small dream to send students to University got started in Katie Jenkins' heart and in mine, and it's amazing to think of the changes that have happened already in Kabala because of it! With any exciting work though, there's always hard work and lessons to be learned. What we are focusing on today is how to make the program run sustainably and effectively when the directors aren't here on location - although the mentoring programs certainly have been growing strong and attracting attention over the past 8 months, it's become clear that we need to find and interview one or two dedicated youth who could take ownership over these programs and not only run them, but also report to the staff back home in Canada about what's going on. Hopefully training youth to run these programs and then putting them in charge will not only foster a desire in their hearts to continue on, but it will also prepare them to receive scholarships in the future, as they are already offering a service to their community. Keep your prayers and hearts with me as I go into this meeting with the Pastors to talk about the Foundation's strengths and weaknesses. I think this is a great opportunity to learn from last year, to see what we did well and what we could do more effectively. Tomorrow, I will be travelling to Freetown to pick up our first volunteer, Haley Howe, from the airport. Hopefully this weekend we will also be starting a branch of the program in Freetown, as well as talking to our current student's university professors to see how they are doing academically in their schooling, to help determine if they qualify to renew their scholarship. Exciting things happening - so much to do and so little time! But as always, I remain inspired and encouraged by these wonderful youth that I have the opportunity to stand beside and work with. I'm excited to see what this year has in store for them! -Krissi

Through Trials comes Triumph!

Hi All – sorry for the long break in communication, but I hope this news will be encouraging enough to allow you all to understand the silence since my arrival. To be honest, this year started off very different than the other years where I have been working here, because I felt a real spirit of discouragement, as if working in Sierra Leone wasn’t really my call after all, and I had misinterpreted God’s plans for my life. In order to try and convey why these feelings started, allow me to offer a little bit of background into my first week here – none of these discouragements were even major things,but they all added up to give me a sense that I was missing something.

On my way here, I passed through London and Kenya, and unfortunately I had to pay a fine of $125 for my baggage in Kenya because it was overweight. My Kenyan friend and I were trying to find a way to lower the charge because when you are working with a non-profit organization, you are supposed to receive an extra bag – but as the attendant talked to my friend in Swahili, she said “it doesn’t matter, it seems like this girl has lots of money anyways, doesn’t it?”. I was again reminded of the unfortunate way in which skin colour sometimes denotes wealth and injustice for some people, and it thoroughly upset me that a woman could just assume that I was travelling to Africa with lots of money to spend anywhere I please, as if that was my only purpose in coming.

Despite this experience at the airport, my heart was still excited to return to my “home” in Sierra Leone, and my reunion with one of the scholarship recipients, Saio, at the airport was wonderful and welcoming, a real homecoming – but the usual joy that I have in my heart the moment I step unto the red dirt of this beautiful country was missing. As I called the family I normally stay with in Freetown, I was again discouraged when I heard the news that they had moved to a different part of the country and I would not be able to see them again in the house where I normally stayed in Freetown. Fortunately, my sister Saio had a place on the far side of Freetown, so after taking transport for nearly two hours, we at last settled down with my luggage and everything in her room. I think the constant transport across town over the next few days – two hours to the beach in a hot bus and two hours on the way back – began to wear down my spirit, and by the time I was travelling to Kabala on Tuesday with Rev. John, my heart was thoroughly confused. Sitting in the car with tears streaming down my face, I found myself questioning God and His will for my life – why am I here, Lord? Is this really what you want me to do? Was I just confused...was this never your plan for me at all?

Last Wednesday, my first full day in Kabala, I was feeling sick and throwing up most of the evening, again struggling with God as to why He would bring me here if I was only going to be sick and suffering – couldn’t I be at home with the comfort of my family? Couldn’t I be somewhere else where I would be more effective? Was I really the worthiest and best person for this Foundation – after all, I am only 20, who am I to be the Director of such an NGO?

Thursday morning, I was feeling well enough to travel with the youth to Bendugu, a village about 3 hours away, for a revival program that we were conducting there from Thursday to Sunday – and thank God I was, because my spirit was so renewed and uplifted by the end of the day on Sunday. Thursday and Friday, as we were going house to house and praying for people, I still felt as if I was missing God’s call on my life, as if I had somehow ignored the real plans he had for me. I even felt sickness come back on Saturday, and I was lying down most of the day, questioning what I was doing there and why I couldn’t be back in Canada with my friends and family. I heard all the discouraging words people had said to me in my past flying back into my head, telling me that I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t worthy, I didn’t belong in Africa, I had a confused identity...and yet amidst all this, I got up and decided to try and walk through the village to try and find the youth, who were going from house to house doing evangelism. As I found one group, I sat down with them at the house and listened to them praying for a sick mother and her child, trusting completely in God for her healing, and I was reminded that I can’t do anything on my own – of course I alone am not worthy or able to run this program, that’s why I need the help of friends, family, coworkers, and most importantly, my Lord and Saviour! It was simply incredible to see the way that these youth had grown over one year – some of them had been so quiet, insecure, and bruised last year, yet I witnessed them rising above that this past weekend, praying for others to be healed from sicknesses, walking in unity with each other and holding each other up. It was amazing to see the way the youth in our programs have joined together, caring for each other so completely – their mental and spiritual development since last year is unfathomable. They are now recognizing themselves as valuable jewels who each have their own unique gifts and abilities – how WONDERFUL to see such a miracle take place in such a short time! Needless to say, my spirit of discouragement was quickly leaving.

At the church service the next morning, Rev. John was speaking about how in order to follow God’s call on our life we have to be willing to sacrifice the things we clung to in our life before God. As I looked at the faces of the youth in our mentoring program, I realized I needed to cling to the advice of my own mentor – to put God first and foremost in my life, and not chase after anything else in this world. Even the business of raising money in Canada distracted me from realizing that this ministry is not mine, it’s not even The Foundation’s – if I think of it in those terms, it is an unbearable burden that I could never accomplish even with the help of our amazing board members and team of staff. But this ministry is from God, the author of creation – we couldn’t have raised $20,000 on our own, that’s for sure. So as I recommitted to the call He gave me for this country, as I decided to leave the distractions and chasing after possessions, a busy schedule, awards, scholarships, or even a relationship, I experienced the fullness of joy that only comes from listening to God’s call and obeying.

How amazing it is to be able to be a part of making a difference in the lives of youth in Sierra Leone, and through this ministry, to see a difference being made in my own life! I will share more later on the way our scholarship students have developed and grown over the last year (this is already becoming a bit of an essay!), but for now, just know that investing in education is never a waste! Seeing the way these students are full of life and ambition, and how they are confident in their own value, their plans and the plans God has for them after just one year in college is simply unfathomable. Praise the Lord – God is moving. From discouragement to encouragement, from low to high, God has brought me through the trials and struggles that this ministry brings, and I am now more ready and willing than ever to work to create change in this beautiful country. Our first non-staff volunteer, Haley Howe, will be arriving in Sierra Leone on Friday, and I am looking forward to working with her and seeing what she can bring to this program, and what it can bring to her in return! Thank you all for your love, prayers, and thoughts – they are needed and felt! Stay tuned –Krissi

Leaving on a jet plane!

Hey all,

Well, here I am, sitting in YVR airport, waiting to leave Vancouver and head back to Sierra Leone. It seems like this just happened - how has 8 months already passed? It's hard to believe, but I am so grateful that I am blessed enough to be heading back to the place God has called me to and blessed enough to carry forward the love and support from Canada all the way there. As many of you know, our fundraising goal for this year was $10,000, as we were hoping to send 4 students back to university, send 4 more, and have a little left over. We have almost DOUBLED our fundraising goal, sitting at just over $19,000 this year, and I could not be more thrilled, humbled, or amazed at how good God is. I cannot wait to get back to Sierra Leone and celebrate his goodness. How amazing it is to be called to something so much higher that I deserve, to take part in something that is literally changing people's lives in another part of the world. So I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who donated, supported, and beleived in this dream...please follow this blog this summer and watch it unfold. Well, boarding calls, but you are all in my heart and my prayers, and we could not do this without you! I am headed to Sierra Leone now, and will arrive Friday afternoon...talk soon!
-Krissi

Lessons from the Heart, Tearful Goodbyes...

Well, it's officially my last weekend in Kabala. I'm headed to Freetown on Monday, and then flying to Zimbabwe next Friday, August 6th, for a couple weeks to visit my 'big sister' and be there for my goddaughter's baptism. It's hard to even write this blog because I don't want to face the fact that I have to say goodbye to my amazing family and friends here once again, for the third time in the past 3 years. I love hellos, I love reuniuons...but I hate parting with people you love, especially when you have worked so closely with them for the last 3 months!

I am thrilled at the way the program is running, and I am confident that we are leaving it in the capable hands of the youth, church leaders, and Reverends here...so I cannot wait to return next year and see what God has managed to do through this program! Honestly, it is bigger than I ever could have imagined, and the impact it has already made is hard to grasp.

I have realized that investing in people is the most worthwhile aid you could ever give. When you empower people to recognize their value, strengths, beauty, and simply enable them to start building a better life for themselves and their family, you will never be disappointed. I have also realized that the gratitude and love people here have shown me is the most wonderful, amazing, and humbling thing in the entire world. I took a motorbike trip to Yarah this week, a village where Martin Koroma, one of the scholarship recipients is from, to say goodbye to my friends and family there. As we were saying goodbye, Martin's whole family gathered and asked me to come sit down, and his Auntie started talking about how immensely grateful she and her whole family are for Katie and I, the program we've started, and the hope we've brought to their family by giving their son a scholarship. She proceeded to say that their family was not rich, they had nothing to give me, nothing that could even begin to compare to what Katie and I had already given them, the hope we had put back into their lives. But she said, "What we are giving you is nothing in size, and it may seem meaningless, but know we are giving it with our whole hearts", as she offered me three chickens, a huge bowl of rice, and a huge bag of groundnuts (peanuts). There was tears in my eyes as I listened to her apologizing because the gifts they had given me were too small...because in my heart I knew these were the such precious, wonderful, and heartfelt gifts, and I did not even deserve them, because this whole program is God's work...Katie and I are just the servants who were asked to do the task. I am so amazed, humbled, and constantly thankful for the fact that God opened my eyes and my hear to this country...I know my life will never be the same because of it.

I wish I could express in one blog what I've learned this summer, but it would be impossible...even if I wrote a whole book, I couldn't express it all. I hope to talk to many of you about my experiences once I get home to Canada in August! But to sum up what I've learned, I think I could say this...

1) The community is SO grateful for this program, believes in in, and really needs it. Every day I have parents thanking me and crying because they believe their child will now go to University...and these are parents whose children haven't finished high school yet! This is inspiring, and also a challenge at the same time...let's keep working on this program and make it bigger and bigger, so that everyone who needs a University Education here in Kabala will get it.

2) Love is the most universal, beautiful, and wonderful thing on Earth. The love I have experienced from my family and friends here has literally kept me alive when I have been exhausted and tired, and the love God always shows to me has given me the strength to keep working even when I feel like it's not making a difference. We can never change the world unless we start believing in the power of love.

3) Walk by Faith. I tatooed this on my foot in April, and I did not realize how incredibly important and essential it would be to my life. There has been days when I literally didn't know how I would get my work done, or what I would lead a bible study on, or how I would find the strength to do third year University in fall and fundraise over $8000 and work at the same time...but everytime I see this writing on my foot, I am reminded that faith is a staircase...you just have to take the next step. Honestly, God has brought me through everything, and will continue...this summer has taught me so much about my own faith, and has pushed me and encouraged me to not trust in my own strength.

So, thanks to all of you for reading, believing in this dream, and supporting it. I will see you in August back in Canada! God Bless

A Brighter Future is on the Horizon - 4 Scholarships Awarded to 4 Amazing, Deserving Youth!

I cannot even think of where to start as I write this blog, with tears in my eyes and the most joy imaginable in my heart. This morning, I had the wonderful oppurtunity (along with Rev. John, Rev. Ezekiel, and Pastor Maxwell, my wonderful Zambian, Nigerian, and Sierra Leonean brothers who are helping run the program on the ground here) to award scholarships to four wonderful, amazing, and very deserving youth in Kabala.First of all, I want to offer a HUGE congratulations to Saio M. Jalloh, Martin Koroma, Foray Sesay, and Martin Jonal Lisa, the first 4 recipients of the scholarships from The People's Foundation for Sierra Leone! You are all amazing, deserving, wonderful youth, and I am SO SO excited about the great things you will do for your families, community, and your country! I also want to offer a HUGE thank-you to everyone who has contributed to make this dream a reality - whether through financial support, prayers, thoughts, or simply spreading the word - we could NOT have done this without you, and I am eternally grateful for your past and continued support. Let's keep it going...believe me, this program will make a difference in the lives of these youth and the lives of people all over this country! I also want to offer a huge, heartfelt thank-you to my beloved sister, friend, and partner in this organization, Katie Jenkins, for working so hard to help make this dream a reality, and not laughing at how ridiculous the idea of sponsoring youth for university seemed for Canadian two girls who hadn't even finished their own schooling - Katie, you are amazing, and I am so so thankful for your love, support, and hard work on this project! I could not and cannot do it without you!

I am absolutely unable to express how blessed I was to be apart of this amazing dream becoming a reality...it was probably one of the most joyful, wonderful moments of my entire life, to see 4 beautiful youth so happy, fufilled, and enabled to reach their dreams.It is impossible to express through words the pure, genuine joy that these 4 youth conveyed after I told them they had received the scholarships...but I have added some pictures to try to express it as best I can. When I return to Canada, Katie and I will be making a video with some of the footage I was able to take of the interviews and the awarding of the scholarships - what wonderful, encouraging, inspiring moments! The best part about doing this kind of work is seeing how valuable and how needed it actually is...NEVER ever think that the work you do for others, or the work you do without pay, is unimportant...it is the most life-changing, beautiful work imaginable!

The only girl to receive a scholarship this year, Saio M. Jalloh, made some incredibly powerful and encouraging statements during her interview. When I asked her what she wanted to do as a career, this is how she responded:

"I want to be a teacher, because I know that there are very few people who want to teach in this country. Teachers are not paid well, and they are often looked down upon...people laugh at me when I say I want to be a teacher, and say I should find money in something like accounting or business. But I want to be a teacher because I want to change that in my district and my country. I want to help develop my country by improving the basic levels of education, and I want to come back to my community and teach so that the children here can have a brighter future. Eventually, I want to be the minister of Education in Sierra Leone, so we can make a change all over the country."

What an incredible, emotional, moving, and amazing statement from someone who just finished secondary school! I was so encouraged and inspired by this to keep pursuing my own dream of becoming a teacher! I am so amazed at the heart, the dedication, and the love for their country that the youth in this town express. I truly believe that if they can pursue education, they will contribute to their community in ways we cannot even imagine now! I am so excited to see how Saio grows in the next years, and how she will come back to her community and change lives for the better!

I could go on forever about how incredible this interviews were, and how inspired I am, but there will be time for all that when I am home in Canada, and I don't want to make you all read a ten-page essay here :) But please know that I am SO thankful for everyone who reads this blog, contributes to this project, and will continue in the future...and please know that this project is truly changing lives beyond our wildest dreams. How good is our God...He makes the impossible possible! I am so blessed that he has chosen to use Katie and I to bring hope through education to this wonderful community, and I am so blessed by what this community gives us in return - the most love, care, and gratefulness imaginable. I truly believe that the youth in this country CAN and WILL change this country...so let's keep believing it, and working towards it! I am so excited about the amazing things the youth we have sponsored will accomplish this year and in future years. I think this is all summarized best by the words of Martin Koroma, one of the scholarship recipients:

"Why do I want to pursue education? I want to be independent, so that I can be a blessing to others just as they have blessed me. Give me a challenge, and I will handle it."
What an incredible statement! So from the bottom of my heart, thank-you...and lets accept this challenge of bringing University Education to even more wonderful, deserving youth in this country in the years to come. It is blessed to be a blessing.

With more love and gratefulness than I could ever express,

Krissi

A Dream to make a Difference!

Hey all,

Life is beautiful and God is good as I enter into my final 2 and a half weeks in this amazing country. Just wanted to give you a brief update. I am still working on the Manual for the mentoring programs, and should have it finished this week. On Friday, I made up our first ever scholarship application forms and distributed them, and I am THRILLED to tell you that we will be interviewing the first 4 applicants EVER for this program on this Wednesday, July 21. I am so amazed and excited that everything came together in time for us to carry out these interviews this week! I am anticipating an exciting time of encouragement, inspiration, and sharing to take place on Wednesday, and I will be sure to update you all with the names of those who have received the scholarships as soon as the final decisions are made. It is simply incredible to think that a dream that began so small could actually take place, become a reality, and really make a difference in the lives of these youth. I wish I could express to you the raw emotion and joy that I saw on these 4 youth's faces when I told them they were to be given an interview for the scholarships on Wednesday. I have never felt so humbled or grateful...it seems impossible that such a relatively small amount of money for those of us in North America, only $4000, could mean so much to 4 youth in Sierra Leone.

We haven't even awarded them the scholarships yet, have only mentioned that they have the opportunity to come for an interview...yet it is as if I have taken the moon down from the sky, wrapped it up, and given it to them as a present. The way their faces broke out into smiles when I told them the time for their interviews is not even something I can express in words...it is a constant reminder of how God continues to humble me and remind me that the work we are doing here is HIS work, and is beyond what is possible for man...who would have thought that such a small thing could bring such incredibly great joy? That is the wonder of our God. I am encouraged and truly inspired to work even harder fundraising once I return to Canada, so that the youth we select this year can continue going to school next year, and we can send even more youth to university. Never underestimate the power of education...it is something many of us in North America and Europe take for granted, but something that literally changes the lives and future of people here in Sierra Leone. And never underestimate the power of our God...impossible things are made possible through Him! I am so thrilled to have been granted the opportunity to do this work, and I sincerely hope that I can continue maintaining my connection with my family and friends here and working in this beautiful community,country and continent for as long as I live, God willing! What a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow, and to recognize that the whole world is one family. Thanks for your love and support, and I will be sure to update the blog on Wednesday or Thursday, as soon as we know who has been awarded the scholarships!

Much love,
Krissi

Time is Flying By...

Wow, hard to believe two weeks have already passed since my last entry! It is crazy how fast time is flying by, and very bittersweet...I never want to leave my friends and family here, but I am excited to be reunited with everyone back home in Canada. It's difficult having two homes on opposite ends of the world!

Last week was so inspiring, challenging, and amazing! We held the mentoring interviews on Wednesday for the youth, which were basically a question panel made up of me, Rev. John Phiri, Rev. Ezekiel, and Pastor Maxwell, asking the youth why they wanted to be in the program, what their goals were in life, and what they wanted to acheive, to see if they were ready to be mentors. What an encouraging time to take a whole day to sit down with over 20 youth and learn from them, and hear about their experiences and challenges! So many of them inspired me and challenged me with their words, and it made my confident that no matter how hard it is to keep this program going, I must make every sacrifice to make it possible...because truly, it is something that could change lives here. How amazing God is...I didn't even know the needs of Kabala, but he simply placed a call on my heart for this town, and then he placed a ministry on the heart of me and my friend Katie...a ministry we could never be fit or prepared to do, but He has called us anyways. Our God is so good!

One of the youth said something very inspiring during the interviews. I always began by asking each youth why they wanted to be a mentor (or why they wanted to have a mentor, if they were too young to start mentoring). One of the girls being interviewed responded like this:

"I want to be a mentor because I want to see the lives of youth in this town change for the better, and I want them to learn from my experiences. What is the point of going through trials in life if you cannot get back up and help others to carry on through the same things? I want to be a mentor so that we as youth can learn from each other, grow from each other, and work together to develop our country."

What inspiring words, and what a challenge to hear from someone who is in the program...it gives me great encouragement and never fails to amaze me how much the youth truly believe in this program. I am in awe of how good God is, how big his call is, and how unfit I am to carry it out. Thank God for His grace! What an amazing thing to be a part of. This week, I will be trying to finish the manual for the program, so that the sessions and mentoring training can carry on after I leave Sierra Leone (which is in only 3 and a half weeks! Time is FLYING!). After that, I will be making up the scholarship applications, so that once WASSCE results come out in August, mentors can begin applying for scholarships. I can't believe that this dream is really becoming a reality!

Thank you all so much for your loving thoughts and prayers! They are really needed and really felt.
Much love,
Krissi

Pressing on, Pressing on

Hey all,

So has been a very hectic week. Last week, I was teaching at the CRC Primary school every day, helping the kids prepare for their first annual Thanksgiving, which took place on Sunday, June 27th. A lot of hard work but what a blessing...it was incredibly emotional and amazing to see how far the school has come in just a few short years! And it was even more amazing to see the impact it has made on the children, the community, and the country as a whole. CRC Primary school is still the only school in all of Sierra Leone to have class sizes of 30 students per teacher (the norm is over 120 students to one teacher), and a desk for each student. Because the class sizes are so much smaller, and actual textbooks are provided for the students, the quality of learning is immeasurably better. Since 2007, CRC has consistently ranked the highest in the whole country in terms of letter recognition and literacy among the kids. What an amazing thing to think that a seemingly impossible dream that started with Mr. Degroot, my old principal, and the community here, could make such an incredible difference. I remember wondering why we always had to fundraise money when we were in high school, and feeling like our teachers and principal were always pressuring us for money for some unknown country in Africa. If only I had known then, and my friends had known, what an incredible impact the money we raised has had on these children, this community, and this country. It is so unbelievable to think of how grateful people are for this school, and to realize the magnitude of what it is accomplishing here in Sierra Leone. I can only hope and pray that I will one day get the opportunity to teach here too :)

I was also meeting with the CES national director last week, talking about what training we could do with the staff (for those of you who don't know, I am here running The People's Foundation, but I am also volunteering with CES, a local NGO in Kabala). I will be putting on 4 workshops for the staff over the next couple weeks, based on what I've just studied in my course back in Canada...training them how to write effective field reports, write grant proposals, develop groups they are in, and recognize and acknowledge gender differences. It's amazing to be blessed with the opportunity to share some of the things you've learned with others, and to learn from others' experience at the same time. It's so humbling to see how excited the staff are about these workshops...what a reminder that I am so not qualified or deserving to do this work, it is only by God's grace it is possible!

In terms of our own project (The People's Foundation), things continue to be going well. I am sometimes discouraged when I think of the relatively small time I have left here and the immense amount of work I have to do, but I know that God never gives us anything we can't handle, and it will all get done. We are trying now to partner the program with the CRC church formally, so that when Katie and I are not in Sierra Leone, the program can still run smoothly and continue developing. We hope to carry out mentoring interviews next week with those who took part in the mentoring training, so we can find someone for them to mentor and help along through life. We started group sessions on "How we can plan for our future" last week, and the result was very inspiring and encouraging. Next week, we will be doing HIV/AIDS education and sensitization. I will also need to make up a "manual" or a guidebook to leave here in Kabala, so the program can continue to run all year. It's so exciting to see a dream taking form and becoming a reality, but it's also a reminder that it takes hard work and doesn't happen overnight! You can't give up just because you aren't seeing results right away or you're tired. Perseverence and patience are always needed.

One of my favourite quotes that always encourages me in this type of work is "God grant me the peace to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." What an incredible reminder, to think about the fact that we cannot fix everything. Sometimes I become discouraged in my work when I feel like it's not changing anything, or I am working hard and seeing no results...but it is always critical to remember it's not the success of the action, but the love behind it. Little things done with great love will always accomplish something...even if it is not the size or the scope you had first hoped for. I was very discouraged earlier this week because of some emotional problems some of my friends were going through, because no matter what I did, I couldn't help them feel better. Sometimes its hard to accept that you can't fix everything...but it's a reminder that as a missionary, God did not call me here to save everyone in this country and make them all feel better - that would be impossible!He simply called me to do the work with great love, no matter the results. So I am trusting him and casting my burdens at his feet, knowing any emotional hurt or frustration I am feeling is something I must work through, not something I can use as an excuse to give up. When you give God the heartaches of your past, the problems of your present, and the uncertainties of your future, you'll be amazed at the result.
Much love!

Krissi

Have Faith through Trials!

Hi all,

So my friend and sister who was helping me for the last month has returned safely to England, thanks so much for your prayers. Unfortunately, her laptop was stolen from her luggage in the Freetown airport, which is a big shame and inconvenience...it's really disheartening when you put so much time, work, love, and effort into a country, and grow to love and trust the people, only to have something like this happen and make you feel like no one can be trusted. However, I am remembering that people are human, and especially in post-war countries, where hardship is everywhere, things like this happen often...it is not a reflection on the people here that I love and trust so much, nor on the future this country has. The missionary pastor from Nigeria, who is working here in Kabala just had his motorbike stolen, and he went through the same emotions...a loss of trust, disappointment, and discouragement...but this morning, as we were talking, he really encouraged me by saying that things like this often happen as a way of trying to discourage us from the work. "Never lose your love for God," he said to me, "or what they have stolen from you will be far greater than what it actually was." This is so true...it's sometimes hard to have faith and trust when things like this happen, but we must press on and continue the work..disappointments may come, trials may come, but we must continue. Please keep Katie in your thoughts and prayers and pray God would provide for her, either by someone returning the laptop somehow, or through giving her the opportunity to find another one.

As for the work, this is an exciting week! We are continuing with the HIV/AIDS and sexual abuse education this week, which I hope will prove to be encouraging and empowering, although difficult at first. I am also having several meetings this week with the CRC Church staff here, in terms of partnering our program with them, so they can run it and head it up when we are not here. We are hoping to partner the program with the CRC church here, as well as CRC churches in BC, because there is a group of CRC churches in BC already interested in providing funds and help to Kabala, especially in the areas of education and HIV/AIDS counselling. So pray that all these meetings go well! The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few...I am praying that many of my SIerra Leone colleages and friends will help to partner with us and take owndership of this work. I will update you all after the meetings take place.

Thanks so much for your love & support! It's amazing to have such a strong network of people who care and are interested in this work back home in Canada.
Much Love, Krissi

Keeping the Faith :)

Sorry for the delay in blog posts, we have been hard at work here in Kabala! But it is such an encouragement to know that people are waiting for news from us and praying for us, thank you so much :)

We introduced the mentoring programs at the beginning of June, and ran our first two mentoring training sessions last week. What an incredible display of God's grace and power...over 35 youth showed up to both sessions, which is more than double the number of youth we usually have at youth meetings! It was amazing to see them talking to each other and discussing the importance of having mentors in life, and sharing ideas about how they could become better mentors in their own life. It is such an inspiration to see the young people of this town so excited and supportive of this program...it really gives us the courage to keep going. The support we have received from the NGO I work at, the church, and all the people we know in the community is really beyond description...another incredible reminder of how amazing God is, that he can provide us with a 'family network' on the other side of the world from where we grew up.

My partner in the program and my "sister" Katie will be heading back to England this week, so please pray for safe travel for her on her way home and for strength for me as I continue the work here. It has been such a blessing to have a friend and sister here to work with, to talk with, and to share with, and I am so grateful that she gave her time to come here with me. She will be doing some fundraising in England for the project, so pray that God will go ahead of that and bless it richly! After I take Katie to the airport and return to Kabala, I will be starting the HIV/AIDS and sexual abuse education sessions next week, and running bible studies on the call in God's word to stay pure and avoid sexual immorality. I am really excited to be starting these programs up, and am confident that God will go ahead off them...programs that deal with these topics are greatly needed here, but rarely discussed, so pray that the youth would have an open mind and be willing to learn.

I am reading an incredible book this week called "Against the Wind", which is a call for missionaries and those serving God with their lives to live differently and finish well in a world of compromise. It is an amazing inspiration, but definitely hard to read, because it makes me realize how I sometimes long for "home comforts" and do not fully rely on God...but there is a part in the book that discusses the certainty of knowing God's call for your life, and having faith in that when all else is lost. This is such an encouragement, because from the moment I stepped foot in Sierra Leone, I knew I had found God's call for my life - to work in Africa as a missionary, a teacher, and whatever else he has planned for me. Sometimes I think in 'realistic' terms and realize it would be much easier to just stay at home in Canada, where I have my family, friends, and everything I could ever need...and it doesn't make any sense to get up and leave for a place that I never knew before three years ago. However, when God calls you, there is a certainty that overshadows all doubt, so while I may miss my friends and loved ones back at home in Canada, I know that for now, I am fulfilling my calling...and I pray that God will reveal it more fully to me as I walk with him this summer, as to where he wants me to go next. Really, it is incomprehensible to think that somehow I am able to eat food I had never tried in Canada, walk miles under heat I am not used to, and speak a language that I never grew up with...hard to understand if you don't realize the greatness of our God. He has brought me here for a purpose, and as long as I stay committed to that, he will allow me to finish it. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"...I pray that wherever you are, you would experience the revealing of God's plan for your life

Much Love! -Krissi

God is good, all the time!

We are hard at work in Kabala now, making up the mentoring sessions and counseling programs, and working with the local youth and pastors to make sure everything runs smoothly. Last weekend we got the chance to travel to Firawa, a village about 4 hours outside of Kabala, to take part in a church youth gathering and introduce the program there. I explained the program to the youth and took down the names of those who were interested in becoming mentors and taking part in the program, which nearly all of them wanted to do. I will be traveling back to Firawa sometime in June to run mentoring workshops, teach the youth about HIV/AIDS, and parter them up with younger kids they can act as mentors for. We will be starting the mentoring group in Kabala next week, and we have already made up the material for the first two mentoring training sessions, as well as three group sessions with the youth about sexual immorality and HIV/AIDS. It's amazing how fulfilled you can become just from doing the simplest work that God has set out for you - there hasn't been a moment where I have felt like this work is meaningless, even though it is tiresome and difficult to start up from scratch. Even though this program can't change the lives of every youth living in the villages, or Kabala, even if it helps just one, it is all worth it.

On Sunday, I had a moment of crashing to reality when I saw one of the girls I mentored last year come to church with her new 2 month old son. It was a reminder of how needed these education and mentoring programs are in Kabala, but also a reminder of how big God is...he can bring a new life out of a painful situation, and bring joy where there once was heartache. Seeing the smile on that new mother's face erased all the tears of disappointment and hurt I was feeling for her, because I knew God has a plan in everything.

Really, the more I am in Kabala the more I recognize that God's grace is so powerful and all encompassing - just the fact that I am able to live in a place that I never knew before three years ago, have such an amazing family and community surrounding me, and be able to do the work God has called me to is nothing short of amazing. Doing this work is a constant reminder that God can use anyone - it's not like Katie or I were meant to educate youth about sexual immorality and HIV/AIDS, or like we are more capable than anyone else - we were just in the right place at the right time, and listened to what God was asking from us, as crazy as it seemed at the time. To think that God brought me to this town in the middle of Sierra Leone, and has made me feel so at home and so at peace is nothing short of incredible. It's a good reminder that everything happens for a reason, and you never know where you will end up. If I had simply chosen to take the easy way out and travel to Europe in high school instead of Africa, none of this would have happened, and I wouldn't have met any of the friends and extended family over here...or have even met Katie and many of my other friends in Canada. God is good...all the time. Whenever you are walking by faith and trusting him, there is no mountain too high for you to climb.

Back Home in Sierra Leone!

Well, we arrived safely back in Sierra Leone last week and now we have travelled up to Kabala, where we will be working for the summer. It's great to be back and reunite with friends and family, and everyone we worked with last year - I am always amazed and how genuinely happy people are to see you when you come back. The weather is much cooler in Kabala too, which is a nice change from the blistering heat of Freetown. We've already had two meetings with community members about the Foundation - one with our friends in Freetown, and one with Pastor Maxwell, the youth Pastor here in Kabala. Both meetings were really positive, and we gained a lot of feedback and support from everyone, as well as a lot of excitement for the program. It's great to see that the people here are so receptive and willing to work with us, and it's even more amazing to see that this program will hopefully deal with one of the biggest needs in Sierra Leone - both groups we met with said that this is something that is really needed in this country. We hope to start introducing the mentoring program in Kabala on Friday, which means today and tomorrow we will be doing a lot of work to come up with program initiatives and outlines for the youth to follow and implement on their own. We want to make sure the program is really sustainable, so we will be concentrating on empowering the youth and providing them with basic mentoring and counselling skills so they can take ownership of the program and continue to run it even after we have gone back to Canada. We're really excited to start working with the youth of Kabala again, and to receive their input and feedback about the program. Pastor Maxwell said something today that was a real encouragement to us - he said "Even if you think the work you are doing is small, really, its not. This is a big thing for us." Its an encouragment to know we're making a difference even when it's tiring and doesn't feel like it.
Much Love,
Katie & Krissi

Heading out to Africa

Well, I spent a nice week in Birmingham, Scotland, and London, and now I am catching my flight over to Africa! I will be flying through Kenya and then arriving in Sierra Leone Thursday afternoon. I'm so excited to be heading back, and even more excited to see where this summer takes the program and all the plans God has in store for it! I had some great planning meetings about the program with Katie, the co-founder, and Charles, my 'big brother' in London who is going to really help us develop this program into a sustainable, functioning, and hopefully well funded reality. I'm looking forward to being back in Africa and hearing what everyone in Sierra Leone has to say and contribute to this dream! Much love, I miss everyone in Canada so much...I will be sure to post once I have arrived in Sierra Leone. Katie gets in on Friday, so please pray for safe travel for her as well.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...but do know when I'll be back again :)

It is amazing to think that 8 months have already passed since the last time I was in Sierra Leone...and so much has changed since then! Two girls who had a seemingly impossible dream to empower and educate young people are well on their way to achieving that dream, and will be seeing it take root throughout the summer. First of all, I want to thank EVERYONE who has so graciously supported this dream of The People's Foundation in Sierra Leone. (For those of you who aren't familiar with our work, please see the website...

The People's Foundation for Sierra Leone Website


We were able to raise $4300 this year alone, which means between 4 and 5 youth will be receiving University Scholarships in September! What an incredible reality this dream is becoming. As I sit writing this, going over my checklist for my flight tomorrow, I am amazed at how good God is. Not only has he enabled me to travel to Sierra Leone for the past two years, and last year, to share my experiences with an amazing friend, but he has allowed the dream Katie and I had last year to become a reality - through hard work, loving support, and a firm foundation. I am excited to see what this summer has in store, and though I will certainly miss all of you in Canada who mean so very much to me, I am confident this summer will be an experience that will enable me to grow deeper in my relationship with God, and fully follow the will he has for me and Katie to do with this organization. Always remember that you are never too small or insignificant to make a difference - it only takes one rock dropped into an ocean to create a ripple. Who could have imagined that two Canadian girls with no real knowledge or experience other than their love for God could see a dream of empowerinf and educating youth become a reality? I certainly couldn't, but that's how great our God is. So although I am sad to be leaving Canada, I am thrilled to see what God has in store - and I am looking forward to spending the next week in England with Katie, the co-founder of this program, making our plans and goals for the summer. I love you all & will miss you all very much! Stay tuned for updates about our work - we will be arriving in Sierra Leone on May 13.

Much love,

Krissi